A.J. Higgins

State House Bureau Chief

A.J. came to MPBN in August 2007 after a recent stint as a staff writer for Blethen Maine Newspapers, where his work for the Kennebec Journal in Augusta also appeared in the Waterville Morning Sentinel, the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Prior to joining the Kennebec Journal, Higgins served for 13 years as Political Editor and State House Bureau Chief for the Bangor Daily News.

He began working for the BDN in 1972 while still a senior at Bangor High School when his first job was casting the lead plates for the printing presses in the paper’s stereotype department. In the ensuing 34 years, Higgins moved up to the Editorial Department where he quickly immersed himself in nearly every facet of news reporting, editing and photography.

In addition to his extensive coverage in the greater Bangor area, he also worked in the paper’s Presque Isle Bureau and was named bureau chief of the paper’s Hancock County operations in Ellsworth in 1988. He was assigned to the State House in 1993.

A.J. resides in Manchester with his wife, Diane.

Ways To Connect

AUGUSTA, Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage lashed out Democrats in the House and Senate today for refusing to back his plan to create additional law enforcement positions to address the state's drug problem.

The governor said Maine voters should be outraged by the lawmakers' indifference.

"If you're not angry, you should be," LePage said. "You should be disgusted with the behavior of some of these legislators that want to continue to ignore the killing of our children. They are weak on drugs. They simply don't want to deal with he problem."

A.J. Higgins reports on a state lawmaker's proposal to impose a moratorium on mining in Maine.

AUGUSTA, Maine - An ongoing debate about regulation of large-scale mining in Maine is now in its third year. After lawmakers rejected mining regulations advanced by the state Department of Environmental Protection last year, the agency opted to resubmit the same rules in February.

AUGUSTA, Maine - The road toward a federal balanced budget amendment passed through Maine today when one of its chief proponents appealed to state lawmakers to support a constitutional amendment for that purpose.

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Portland spokeswoman for the NAACP renewed her call Friday for a meeting with Maine Senate leaders and an investigation into several offensive Facebook messages posted by GOP Sen. Michael Willette of Presque Isle.

Senate President Michael Thibodeau offered to meet with Rachel Talbot Ross as long as the discussion did not include Democrats. But Talbot Ross says that's not acceptable.